This kind of hate is created by those including right wing media, right wing Christian hate preachers, and republicans in office that are demonizing the LGBTQ+. By constantly shouting into the ears of their faithful / viewers that gays are molesters, groomers of children, sexually abusing your child, that the trans / gays are recruiting your child, that teachers are indoctrinating your innocent kids into sexual experimentation and orgies … all this and so much more vitriol that the right is spewing just incites this kind of stuff. Is this what you pay your elected officials for? Is this what you want your religion to be known for?
At least five people were killed and 18 injured late Saturday in a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado Springs, the police said early Sunday morning.
Lt. Pamela Castro, a public information officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said at a news conference outside the nightclub, Club Q, that the investigation was only beginning and that the number of victims was subject to change. She added that the victims had been taken to multiple area hospitals.
After the police received an initial call about an active shooting at 11:57 p.m., Lieutenant Castro said, officers entered the club and took into custody an individual they believed to be a suspect. The suspect was also injured and was being treated at a hospital, Lieutenant Castro said.
Police officers had entered the club overnight as they responded to reports of the shooting and located “one individual believed to be the suspect inside,” Castro said.
She said the casualty toll “is subject to change as the investigation continues,” adding that ambulances and police had transported “numerous people” to hospitals. The hospitals are helping to notify families of the victims, she added.
Capt. Mike Smaldino, spokesperson for the fire department, said 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to help quickly move people to hospitals.
The club was reportedly planning to hold a drag brunch today to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
There was a mass shooting at my job tonight. I am alive. Please pray for my community. #coloradosprings#clubq
#Breaking: Colorado Springs Police first got the call around 11:57pm for a an active shooter at Club Q. Again, they confirmed five dead and 18 injured. They are taken to local hospitals. The gunman was injured in this. Not sure if by police or civilian. pic.twitter.com/cpcIhSfWzZ
Not just conservative. It is a hotbed of evangelicals, like Ted Haggard, and is also where the evangelicals work to make sure the Air Force academy there stays rigidly Christian.
Waiting for words of condolence from DeSantis for the victims. Of course, the politicians trying to protect the children from grooming who used gays as scapegoats for their political ambition had absolutely nothing to do with this sad, sad occurrence.
They want us to live in fear. There’s no way to “ethnically cleanse” gay people from anywhere. Now another murderer is about to be purged from society. We still exist. He will get to write hateful manifestos from prison, but society will still have gay people because we will refuse to live in fear.
Gay kids will still be born, and we will be here as long as there are people, we’ll remain. He will not change that fact. We will still love each other, but no one will remember or love him.
The far-right fascist QAnonGOP and Nazi scum are doing all they can to silence and cancel lgbt Americans! Of course the motive will turn out to be homophobia and/or anger at the drag brunch due to radicalization by far-right fascist social media.
The media are partly to blame, but a lot of the media are merely reporting what the goddamned rethugs are doing with their don’t say gay tirades, grooming crap, and transphobia. It is just a game for those bigots. Part of their attempt to encourage homophobia to garner votes.
ProPublica has obtained audio of a call between Tennessee State Legislators and Anti-Choice lobbyists, Will Brewer, the legal counsel for the organization Tennessee Right To Life, who urged Tennessee State legislators to “play offense” and refuse to accept any exemptions in their legislation.
It seems a constant battle to weed out misinformation and misdirection from the public information sphere. The very people who wrote the study say this article and its authors got it wrong. So why did the authors of the article not simply ask the authors of the studies? Because they wanted to push a narrative it seems. They did get a few things correct and this article I am posting mentions that, but it does seem the authors of the NY Times piece had a bias they wanted to push instead of the truth. So the anti-trans heroes on the right leaped on this NY Times article to push the misinformation with glee. One of the main points that show the NY Times pushing lies their article claims that puberty blockers cause osteoporosis (thin bones) in teens that use them. This is false, and the study they were quoting from said the observed change in bone density of teens on puberty blockers was zero! The NY Times authors flat out lied, and the right wing rabid anti-trans ran with it know few people would check it. Hugs
The NY Times’ analysis of this data is so misleading that some advocates question the motives behind the piece: “This is not investigative journalism.”
While public sentiment toward transgender people in the U.S. continues to warm, anti-transgender campaigners are exploiting the public’s uncertainty about trans youth to promote Florida-style bans on gender-affirming care.
And the stakes couldn’t be higher. Boston Children’s Hospital has been on the receiving end of at least three bomb threats this year due to misinformation about health care for transgender youth being provided there.
The piece hinges on what the authors describe as “emerging evidence of potential harm” related to the use of puberty-suppressing medications for transgender youth. But transgender health experts say that the data referenced in the Times‘ reporting comes to a different conclusion. The Times’ analysis of this data is so misleading that some advocates are questioning the motives behind the piece.
I talked with three experts – a trans advocate and educator, a psychology researcher, and a gender-affirming healthcare provider – to better understand what the Times got wrong and why it matters. Their criticisms touched on a range of issues including the data, the sources, and the framing of the issues. Many of these concerns are echoed by transgender people and care providers across the country.
“Basically, any way you slice it, this is not investigative journalism,” said Dr. Quinnehtukqut McLamore,
Dr. Quinnehtukqut McLamore, a psychology researcher familiar with the studies on gender-affirming care, criticized The Times’ interpretation of the data about puberty blockers. Dr. Quinnehtukqut McLamore
who has a Ph.D. in Psychology and conducts research at the University of Missouri at Columbia. “This is storytelling and editorializing from science they – at best – don’t understand because they don’t apply a logical lens to it.”
Critics of the Times piece said the reporters did get a few things right: More research on transgender health topics is needed. The reticence of drug companies to conduct research with transgender people creates barriers for FDA approval. Bone scans are beneficial for youth before and during treatment with puberty blockers.
And the most concerning is the fear that research findings could be exploited in the current political climate.
The Times article is itself a clear example of this exploitation in action and is arguably more dangerous than the transparently transphobic content published by opponents of trans rights. By echoing their claims in an ostensibly objective news outlet with a large, mainstream audience, the authors lend legitimacy to hateful extremists.
Many of the false claims promoted by those who believe gender-affirming care is tantamount to child abuse are presented to readers as if they’re objective fact. While this would be dangerous enough in an opinion piece, the Times framed this reporting as a well-vetted public service piece:
As growing numbers of adolescents who identify as transgender are prescribed drugs to block puberty, the treatment is becoming a source of confusion and controversy.
We spent months scouring the scientific evidence, interviewing doctors around the world and speaking to patients and families.
Here’s a closer look at what we found.
The celebratory response from far-right pundits is revealing. The Daily Wire‘s Matt Walsh, whose film What is a Woman? manipulates the documentary format in an attempt to legitimize harmful transphobic myths, took credit for “[forcing] the NYT to admit that puberty blockers are dangerous.”
We forced the NYT to admit that puberty blockers are dangerous. They're a decade late and deserve no credit or applause. But it's still great news because it shows that our movement is winning. We're dragging left wing institutions into the light, kicking and screaming.
Jenn Burleton, director of the TransActive Gender Project at Lewis and Clark’s College of Education and Counseling, has watched media narratives about transgender people evolve over 35 years of advocacy work. She’s seen the damage anti-transgender rhetoric can do. As part of the college’s first-of-its-kind certificate program in Gender Diversity in Children and Youth, Burleton lectures on the origins and impacts of anti-transgender bias.
Jenn Burleton, program director for the TransActive Gender Project, was interviewed for The New York Times piece but said the reporter’s coverage missed the mark.
She was one of the experts interviewed for the Times article. But Burleton told LGBTQ Nation she was disappointed that the reporter declined to include any discussion of the forces behind the current campaign against gender-affirming care.
“I primarily discussed the immense amount of disinformation being spread about trans-affirming healthcare, specifically as it impacts adolescents and teens,” Burleton recalled. “[Megan Twohey] seemed very interested in looking into that, and I believed the story was going to have content that exposed the false claims being made in white nationalist media and in some state legislatures.”
Instead of delving into the well-documented rise in trans antagonism promoted by far-right religious and political groups, the brief mention of Burleton portrays her as a pushy activist, prodding healthcare providers and advocating for “early and easy access” to puberty-suppressing medication.
Dr. AJ Ecker, a nonbinary trans doctor, provides gender-affirming care at Connecticut’s Anchor Health.
Dr. AJ Eckert, who directs the gender-affirming care program for Anchor Health in Connecticut and teaches at Quinnipiac University’s school of medicine, described the report as “another hit piece against trans people.” He also expressed frustration about the timing of the story, which was published on the first day of Transgender Awareness Week.
“I don’t understand how a journalist in good faith can publish something like this,” Eckert told LGBTQ Nation. “Trans youth are a vulnerable target and this is just so extremely sh**ty.”
Far from clarifying confusion about the safety and efficacy of “puberty blockers” in easing gender dysphoria, the reporting fuels an increasingly vitriolic debate over the existential rights of transgender people. The most vocal opponents of prescribing medications like Lupron to temporarily suspend exogenous puberty – or puberty a person would go through absent puberty blockers – are not calling for a more cautious approach. Rather, they advocate for the eradication of transgender identities altogether.
As trans Harvard Law instructor Alejandra Caraballo pointed out on Twitter, “The anti-trans side doesn’t want research, they want us eliminated.”
The NYT claims to want more science and studies but then contributes to the same climate that chills more research and studies. Florida banned research as part of it's gender affirming care ban. The anti-trans side doesn't want research, they want us eliminated.
But no amount of research will make a difference if media outlets like the Times are unable or unwilling to accurately translate its findings and their significance.
“The entire article is based on the premise that puberty blockers are horrible for bone health,” Dr. Eckert explained. Through cherry-picked anecdotes and quotes, the story paints a picture of children being pushed into taking a dangerous and untested drug that might give them osteoporosis and which locks them into a medical transition process.
The Times describes one teen’s experiences:
During treatment, the teen’s bone density plummeted — as much as 15 percent in some bones — from average levels to the range of osteoporosis, a condition of weakened bones more common in older adults.
The anecdote elicits an emotional response, but there is no data to support the claim that puberty blockers are giving teenagers osteoporosis. Unfortunately, the average reader won’t dig into the cited research studies to fact-check these claims – they will simply trust that the Times’ interpretation of that data is accurate and presented without bias.
What Does the Data Say?
“Simply put, there’s no evidence in their review that puberty blockers lower adolescents’ bone mineral density at all. And here’s how I know this: [the studies] say so,” Dr. McLamore explained.
They explained that the difference in bone density between trans youth on blockers and their cisgender peers is attributable to the difference in exposure to sex hormones. Also, trans youth are more likely to have lower bone density before starting puberty blockers, due to a dysphoria-related lack of exercise and nutritional deficiencies.
“Puberty causes an increase in bone density. Blocking puberty will then halt this increase; therefore, bone density will decrease in these trans youth compared to cis youth, an expected result,” Dr. Eckert explained. “Trans youth treated with puberty blockers in early puberty have changes in bone health comparable to those of cis youth of their experienced gender.”
Also unfounded is the claim that gender-affirming care reinforces trans identity, as if healthcare providers are encouraging a bad habit by indulging a patient’s desire for medically-appropriate care.
“According to the gender-critical crowd, affirming a youth’s gender identity, whether socially and/or medically with blockers, causes a youth to double down on that identity. It’s an oft-cited argument to dissuade parents and school environments from affirming youths’ true identities,” Eckert explained. “There is precisely zero evidence that blockers ‘lock in’ a trans identity. Yes, many trans youth start gender-affirming hormones. Trans adolescents know who they are. Those youth who started on blockers and moved on to gender-affirming hormones do so because they are trans.”
To force youth to delay transition in the hopes that puberty will reaffirm their sex assigned at birth is cruel and potentially deadly. Heightened gender dysphoria is associated with an increased risk of suicidality.
“Puberty does not ‘help clarify gender,’” Eckert said. “For many of us, puberty can be highly traumatic and irreversible; waiting to see if gender dysphoria resolves is not a neutral response.”
On the contrary, puberty blockers can prevent the need for future surgeries by preventing the development of noncongruent sex characteristics like breasts or facial hair.
What’s the Harm?
As many transgender folks have observed, the study authors and named sources include a cast of familiar antagonists. And while the Times mentions in passing that some of these sources have testified in favor of state-level bans on gender-affirming care, their names are not cited in connection with the article’s dubious claims, leaving readers to take them at face value.
Of the 50-plus sources the authors say they interviewed, only about a dozen are named in the article. According to the Times, this is because several sources requested to not be named and more than a dozen declined the interview. Instead, they are cited under the syntactical cover of “some experts,” significant enough to matter but not specific enough to be held accountable.
Why do these concerns matter? Because they have a real-world impact. A well-functioning press has the power to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” But a reckless reporter’s pen can be just as harmful as a drunk surgeon’s scalpel.
The article repeatedly and uncritically leans into the talking points of anti-transgender extremists, parroting their narratives without examining their sources. As a result, advocates of gender-affirming care are finding themselves in a never-ending game of Whack-a-Myth.
“I’m tired of repeatedly refuting the same points,” Eckert said, noting that they have been so busy responding to the false claims that they have gotten little sleep since Monday. “But I have to keep doing it until mainstream media starts platforming trans voices alongside these biased and transphobic editorials.”
Though public trust in media is on the decline, the Times has managed to maintain a reputation as a trustworthy news source, particularly among the sort of well-educated, left-leaning readers who are most likely to support transgender rights.
The credibility of this story is also bolstered by its byline. Lead author Megan Twohey is best known for helping break the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story. A film about her journalistic accomplishments, She Said, hits theaters this week. Co-author Christina Jewett is an award-winning journalist who focuses on issues including drug safety. Readers can’t be blamed for seeing them as trustworthy.
“The harm done by this article is not that it reveals disagreement about treatment methodologies among a relatively small group of providers and researchers. Disagreement and unbiased, ethical discussion about healthcare is imperative to delivering improved healthcare,” TransActive’s Burleton explained. “The harm done by this article is that it implies that trans-affirming providers and advocates oppose asking questions that will improve trans-affirming healthcare. The article ignores the [denial] that anti-trans zealots – including some care providers/’experts’ – have about the very existence or authenticity of gender expansive identity.”
Whether the author’s missteps are due to malice or ignorance is up for debate. But it is worth noting that neither of the reporters has much experience covering transgender issues. That much is clear from the language they use to describe the experience of being transgender. The authors conflate gender dysphoria and trans identity with “the discomfort of puberty” and cite an interest in wearing dresses as evidence that a child must not have a masculine gender identity. At one point, they go so far as to describe supporters of gender-affirming care as “enthusiasts.”
The Times owes transgender people an apology – and some serious soul-searching – after platforming anti-trans extremism under the guise of investigative journalism. While Monday’s front-page story purports to be a thorough analysis of the scientific research, it traffics in a dangerous misrepresentation of the data. It’s not the first problematic piece from the Times, but it is the most high profile. And while other media outlets are guilty of similar missteps, reporters like Twohey and Jewett (and their editors) should be capable of better. And if they aren’t, perhaps the Times should consider assigning these stories to transgender journalists.
I wish the US could do something like this. The entire idea behind conversion therapy is that if a person / kid is hurt enough they wont do that behavior anymore. That is the idea behind spankings and corporal punishment. Even the people still pushing this admit it won’t change the desire, just make the thought of it so painful, the feelings about it so adverse that the person is unable to go forward with the desire. Think of that. Say you are attracted to a set gender / sex and you are tortured to the point where every time you try to fulfill that desire the effects / memories of the torture kick in giving you a fresh taste of the torture. It doesn’t matter your sexual orientation or what gender you ID as, if your conditioned to hate it in yourself or hate it in anyway, you have just been programed to hate yourself forever, all of yourself. This is done to teens by religious parents who think their religion gives them the authority to claim such feelings either don’t exist or are from the devil and because of laws in most places the parents in that case have the unquestioned authority to force their teenager to go to these places and undergo the torture. That is why these bans on these conversion therapy places need to happen. Hugs
11th edition of the ‘Antwerp Pride’ parade. Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck
Belgium is banning conversion practices – a pseudoscientific practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms – for members of the LGBTQ community, announced State Secretary for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunity and Diversity Sarah Schlitz.
Although Belgium is regularly regarded as a model of LGBTQ rights due to its extensive legislative arsenal, conversion practices – often referred to as “conversion therapy,” which is considered a misnomer by medical professionals as it does not constitute a legitimate form of therapy – were not yet officially banned in the country.
“Belgium is a pioneer in the field of LGBTQ rights. Numerous legislative reforms and social efforts bear witness to this, but a ban [on conversion practices] was sadly missing from our legislative arsenal,” Schlitz said in a press release.
While the phenomenon is better known abroad – especially in the United States where at least 700,000 cases of conversion practices are known – Belgium is not spared from it: a recent study by the ‘Centre Permanent pour la Citoyenneté et la Participation’ (CPCP) reveals the stories of LGBTQ people who have been victims of these so-called medical therapies or even forms of exorcisms.
Symbolic, psychological and physical violence
Conversion practices are “deceptive, ineffective and dangerous” practices that aim to change, suppress or eliminate the sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of LGBTQ people.
“The opportunity to be yourself and the freedom to live the way you want is a fundamental principle of our society that must not be compromised under any circumstances,” Schlitz said. “This prohibition is a powerful act to protect the victims from this symbolic, psychological and sometimes physical violence.”
Methods range from psychotherapy and electroshock therapy to beatings and even “corrective rape.” They can take place in religious, medical or sectarian environments, can be carried out by relatives or pseudo-professionals and have terrible consequences for the people who undergo them.
From now on, carrying out conversion practices will be punishable by imprisonment of one month to two years and/or a fine of €100 to €300.
The court will also take into account whether the offence was committed by a person in a recognised position of trust, authority or influence over the victim and whether the offence was committed against a minor or a person in a vulnerable situation.
Suggesting or inciting conversion practices, directly or indirectly, will also be penalised. The court will be able to prohibit people convicted of conversion practices from carrying out a professional or social activity related to the commission of these offences for a maximum period of five years.
Hate and anger has replaced common decency and reduced society to gang thug level. These people cannot accept the advancement in society. These people demand to have what they want and they don’t care if they have to break laws or hurt people to get it. This is their new abortion issue. just as they did everything to close abortion clinics (even clinics that did not perform abortion but had the hated name) and killed abortion providing doctors they are now doing that for trans care / treatment. This has to stop. Science has disproved the entire anti- trans conspiracy and all their misinformation has been debunked. First there is no sign kids are being rushed into socially transitioning, there is mental health exams and treatments at every step, 98% remain happy with their transitions and some of those that detransition so because of social pressure such as negative actions / treatment from family and former friends, sexual reassignment surgeries are not happing to kids. We know from studies that positive gender affirming treatment which the major medical associations support saves lives of trans kids and adult. Hugs
Conservatives falsely claimed in August the hospital was performing hysterectomies on “young girls.”
Boston Children’s Hospital was the target of another bomb threat Wednesday, the third since August. The hospital serves transgender youth and has been the subject of a right-wing harassment campaign this past year.
“This morning, the hospital was again the target of a bomb threat,” the Harvard-affiliated medical center said in a statement. Boston Children’s is “committed to ensuring the hospital is a safe and secure place for all who work here and come here.”
The previous two bomb threats were directed at the hospital’s Gender Multispecialty Service program, the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the country.
Right-wing troll Matt Walsh, Chaya Raichik of LibsofTikTok, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson began whipping up outrage over the summer with false claims the hospital was mutilating children.
After staff and patients were evacuated Wednesday, police determined the latest threat to be a hoax.
In October, Catherine Leavy, 37, was indicted on one count of making a false bomb threat and one count of intentionally conveying false or misleading information that a bomb was on the way to Boston Children’s Hospital, in relation to the threat called in on August 30. A search of Leavy’s residence on September 15 turned up the phone allegedly used to make the call.
In August, Raichik spread the false story to her 1.5 million followers that Boston Children’s was performing hysterectomies “for young girls” as part of their gender-affirming care program. No such surgeries were or are available to trans boys under 18. The disinformation was amplified across right-wing media.
In September, Walsh targeted Vanderbilt University Medical Center with similarly false information, claiming the hospital’s Transgender Health Clinic “now castrate, sterilize, and mutilate minors as well as adults, while apparently taking steps to hide this activity from the public view.”
Walsh criticized the clinic’s Trans Buddy program – which offers peer support to patients – and repeatedly accused the medical staff of “drugging and sterilizing” kids for financial gain.
Soon after, Carlson shared the names and photos of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s board of directors, while ranting against hospitals that provide gender-affirming care. He urged the board, and by extension his viewers, to “do something to stop these crimes.”
As everyone knows I love science and learning. I also really enjoy watching this YouTube channel. I should have posted this before. It is very informative and it is broken into segments you can use the timeline bar at the bottom to find the segments you most want to learn about. Hugs
Leaked audio from a meeting of anti-abortion activists in Tennessee – which currently has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country – has revealed that the anti-choice movement may start going after IVF and contraception in the next couple of years.
The audio, obtained by ProPublica, is from a webinar for GOP lawmakers held by Tennessee’s subset of the National Right to Life organization, as well as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
During the conversation, state Rep. Susan Lynn (R) – who sponsored Tennessee’s abortion ban – asked what to do about in vitro fertilization (IVF), which many have worried will be the anti-choice movement’s next target.
In response to Lynn, the speakers on the call suggested waiting a little while before attacking IVF.
“Maybe your caucus gets to a point next year, two years from now, three years from now, where you do want to talk about IVF, and how to regulate it in a more ethical way, or deal with some of those contraceptive issues,” said Stephen Billy, vice president for state affairs at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “But I don’t think that that’s the conversation that you need to have now.”
During the IVF process – which is used by some same-sex couples to have children – it’s common to fertilize more than one egg to maximize the chances of IVF treatments being successful. Once the person receiving IVF is pregnant, any extra fertilized eggs are usually discarded. As such, those who believe life begins at fertilization are likely against IVF, a process that many LGBTQ couples rely on to have children.
As Elizabeth Constance, a doctor at Omaha’s Heartland Center for Reproductive Medicine toldThe Washington Post in May, “There are concerns about whether there will be repercussions related to embryos that don’t survive in the lab. What about those put in the uterus and don’t implant? That’s all in a gray area.”
Shelbi Day, Chief Policy Officer at the nonprofit organization Family Equality, told LGBTQ Nationin June that “without the protections of Roe v. Wade, it is possible that state lawmakers may feel empowered to create barriers for people to access medical procedures like IVF – which is deeply troubling for LGBTQ+ people and anyone who needs access to IVF to expand their family.”
And as Cathryn Oakley, an attorney with the Human Rights Campaign, told NBC News, “If the law believes that human life begins at conception, that means those embryos in the petri dish are legally people. That would make IVF impossible to really function.”
And while the timeline is unclear, it seems IVF is definitely on the radar of anti-choice activists.
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Tennessee has essentially completely outlawed abortion. The law focuses on consequences for doctors who perform abortions and will not prosecute pregnant people who seek them out. Its severe language makes performing an abortion a felony and has no exceptions for rape, incest, or even the life of the pregnant person.
The text states that doctors are allowed to violate the law and perform an abortion to save the parent’s life, but afterward the burden is on them to prove it was medically necessary to do so.
“The law will make the doctor second guess their medical training and expertise when choosing a treatment plan or risk a felony criminal conviction,” said Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi CEO Ashley Coffield when the law took effect. “Now, hospitals and lawyers will be weighing in on life and death scenarios.”
Amanda Eid and Josh Zurawski share their terrifying experience after being denied an abortion due to Texas’ strict anti-abortion laws. CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen reports.
Scottie's Playtime 